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He swings her around, dancing with no purpose other than to torment her. At one moment, yes, please, come with me, join me, let us make this world ours. On another, no, you’re a toy, a thing, useful only to make my powers grow (he had always made her acutely aware of that, from that first meeting to the last), and Alina has never been so tired. She doesn’t want someone who one moment is hot, burning like a fiery inferno, and the next, pulling her away, cold as ice.
The Darkling seems to care not, smirking at her when Alina acts in kind to his last actions towards her. He, in fact, seems to have fun with her blundering and being cold and distant or acting overly caring.
That’s how she ended up in her current situation, sitting on the Darkling’s lap - he had tricked her, asked her to come see the map of the Unsea on his desk (come here, he had said, let us see where we can breach it, we still needs supplies). She approached the desk cautiously, still reeling from yesterday’s coldness, his grey eyes scathing and commenting wordlessly on her, admittedly still quite terrible, form while doing the exercises prescribed, but as usual, the room was dark, impossibly dark, and Alina struggled to see what he pointed at.
He rolled his eyes at that, gesturing for her to come behind his desk, and Alina obeyed, feeling vaguely irritated with his voice. If you can’t see, come closer. Or make this place, an expansive gesture to the barely lit room, as dark as the circles underneath his eyes, get some lights on. Alina huffed at that, and made her way to his side, feeling vaguely like she were on a war table, his second in command, and felt - pride, maybe?
Then it all went away when she felt his hands (cautiously, so cautiously, as if she was breakable, glass made real, a physical form of light) wrap around her waist, pulling her into his lap, the Darkling burying his face on her back.
She yelped, surprised, feeling heat pool in her cheeks. He mumbled something along the lines of let me stay like this for a moment, and Alina relaxed on him, allowing what he wanted. He probably hadn't slept - Alina recalled the lights still being on late at night on the war room, glittering like candles on the night -, so this (whatever this happened to be) was the only moment he had to sleep, to be comfortable. Her chest filled itself with a strange feeling, once she couldn't name.
Alina knew this was only for today, this warmth, his hands on her, but that was alright. Starved for attention as she was, this wasn’t so bad - and besides, she knew he needed attention, too. Therefore, she leaned up to him, allowing herself to relax as well.